There are six EU countries in which monthly aid, averaging €67.66, is provided to coeliacs. Following a gluten-free diet as a coeliac can be costly. In light of the rise in the cost of living and other inflation, this is an issue that we need to examine. We need to simplify and expand the current process. I am grateful to the Coeliac Society of Ireland in Clondalkin for raising this issue with me and Deputy O'Dowd. I will remind my constituents that they can purchase gluten-free products in the society's shop in Cl…

This morning, new parents in Lucan were informed by letter that the public health nurse service will not be providing developmental check-ups for newborns and infants. Three-month, nine- to 11-month, 21- to 24-month and 46- to 48-month check-ups are all cancelled. The reason given is that the public health nurse service is so understaffed that other areas are being prioritised. Parents in Lucan are furious and I am absolutely furious too. This is such an important issue. Developmental check-ups are vital when it co…

Yesterday some of us met four mothers from the Clondalkin Autism Parents Support Network, CAPS. They shared what can only be described as their harrowing struggles to get their children the support they need, such as diagnosis, educational supports, speech and language therapy and occupational therapy. Their view is that the State has failed them. Having listened to those stories it is very hard to disagree. What struck me is the feedback that when children receive a diagnosis, get a place in an autism spectrum dis…

I commend the previous speaker, who is on my housing committee and with whom I work closely, on a very open and frank contribution here today. I am delighted to be speaking on this important topic today. I will start by wishing a happy Pride month to everybody and especially to all those who are preparing to celebrate this weekend. I always love attending the Pride parade in Dublin and seeing our capital city flooded with colours, vibrancy, diversity and, most importantly, with a considerable and palpable sense of …

Thank you, Deputy. That is your question finished.

That is for the next question. We have gone into Deputy Calleary's time.

I am pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to this debate because services for children with disabilities or additional needs are incredibly important. Under the umbrella of additional needs come special educational needs. I commend the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, on the work she has done and the commitment she has shown thus far. Having a dedicated Minister of State for special education is a genuine show of the Government's commitment to improving the lives of children with special educational need…

I want to take the opportunity to raise an anomaly for public transport users. With the 90-minute TFI fare at the moment, someone is better off if they pay for their bus journey by Leap card than if they had purchased in advance the annual tax-saver ticket. In fact they are 20% better off. The tax-saver scheme was introduced to provide a tax-efficient benefit to commuters. It is no longer fit for purpose. It is 20% more expensive to use it twice a day five days a week. We need to fix that and reduce the cost for co…

The question relates to the implementation of BusConnects in Dublin.

The C spine is up and running in Lucan. It has been a very big change and there are definitely still some teething problems but, by and large, many people have felt the benefit of it. The night-time schedule has been especially welcome. People who have not felt the benefit are those used to having a bus service to the city centre but no longer do so. I am talking about people living in places such as Doddsborough, Hillcrest and Laraghcon. Those of us who use the C spine, especially during rush hour or on busy weeke…

I will also take this opportunity to bring to the attention of the Minister of State the withdrawal without any prior notice of a very important bus service in my area. On 6 June, I got a note from a commuter who used the 68X every morning to get to work. He was letting me know that after a full week of going down to the bus stop and waiting for his regular morning bus to get to work, it had not shown up once. He wondered what had happened to the 68X that week. Unbeknown to us as local representatives and without a…

This is a welcome initiative. In the budget, the Government did much to focus on young people, including changes to the Student Universal Support Ireland grant for those going to college, free contraception for young women and this youth public transport card, which is offered at a substantially discounted rate. As we approach the next budget and budgetary discussions begin, should we look at extending this beyond the 19- to 23-year-old age cohort, as my colleague, Deputy O'Donnell, said? I would be interested to s…

I am a member of the special committee that was established to make recommendations on legislating for international surrogacy. We are working hard to a really tight timeframe to make that happen. In our committee room, stories have been shared and tears have been shed. We have heard from legal experts, international experts, researchers, psychologists and medics, and we have heard the extremely personal stories of families who are family because of surrogacy, of children, now adults, who were born through surrogac…

Given the disruption to transport we have all seen in the last days, it is really timely that we are having this debate now. It seems very clear that what is happening at Dublin Airport is due to staff shortages after Covid. If pay and conditions need to be reassessed to attract and retain talent, then I really hope they are reassessed. If we have Dublin Airport branded as a more attractive place for people to work, it would ensure that we could stop these absolutely embarrassing scenes we are seeing. It is embarra…

I am glad to have the opportunity to contribute to this debate. The Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins; the Minister, Deputy Harris; and the Department are doing excellent work to construct a better future for our young people and notably providing a pathway to education or further learning for everyone. That is welcome. I welcome the apprenticeship action plan, which will ensure we have a modern apprenticeship system that reflects contemporary Irish society. It will support learners and employers undertaking …

I am grateful to have an opportunity to contribute to this important debate. Journalists working in conflict situations risk their lives every day. They do so in the name of truth, accuracy, transparency and fair reporting. Sadly, they sometimes pay with the ultimate sacrifice, that is, with their lives. Today, I particularly remember Irish journalist, Pierre Zakrzewski, who was killed when his car was hit by Russian shelling outside Kyiv on 14 March, and Shireen Abu Akleh, an Al Jazeera journalist who was shot and…

I would like to raise the shortage of childcare places particularly in Lucan and Newcastle. I have been contacted by parents who cannot find a place for their child and are met with really long waiting lists. Sadly, in some cases, this means that one parent, invariably the mother, decides to change her working hours because she cannot find appropriate childcare. I have also been contacted by a number of childcare providers who are disappointed in the funding they are due to receive under the new ECCE core funding m…

I am pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to the discussion about the just transition mechanism. It is a dynamic and proactive framework that identifies opportunities for public and private investment that is both sustainable and inclusive. It is a fair and effective way of ensuring that everyone can work together to fight the climate emergency. The just transition fund is designed to assist countries across Europe to meet the challenges of the green transition in line with our goal of making the EU climat…

I am so glad and it is so welcome to me that we are having this debate. Taking a pause over the past ten days was the right thing to do because people have questions and it is up to all of us who have questions, including public representatives, men, women and today's children who may someday be using the new national maternity hospital, to get those answers. I thank the Minister for already answering some of my questions today and in the briefing he provided to Fine Gael Deputies, Senators and women's network memb…

I have raised previously in the Chamber the provision of menopause supports. I do so again today because right now the women of Ireland are experiencing a shortage of hormone replacement therapy, HRT, medicine. It is a matter of huge concern to women who rely on HRT to combat menopause symptoms, especially those who experience severe symptoms. Currently, however, we are seeing extreme shortages, which are impacting people's lives. We see similar medication shortages in respect of paracetamol, and just yesterday I s…